Content warning: This article contains mentions of weight loss.
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My New Year’s resolution since age 12 was always “get fit.” Each year I scribbled those words onto a piece of notebook paper and sealed it with an envelope addressed to my future self. While my goal remained the same over the years, the societal definition of "in-shape" evolved many times during my upbringing.
“Fit” in the early 2010s was long torsos and washboard abs, thin legs and broad shoulders. Just a few years later, we collectively abandoned low-rise jeans in favor of Fashion Nova shape wear designed to mimic "King Kylie’s” perfect, artificially-obtained proportions. The new ideal body was a confluence of features that rarely coexist for most women: tiny waist, big butt, thigh gap, etc.
Fast forward to 2022 and the media lost it over Kim Kardashian’s infamous two-week weight loss for the Met Gala. I remember thinking, "It’s happening,” as I scrolled through one TikTok after another about how she shed weight to fit into Marilyn Monroe’s iconic dress.
While one could easily chalk up Kim K’s weight loss to just that — weight loss — I argue that she may have, perhaps unknowingly, started a new body trend. Soon enough, reports emerged detailing stories about other celebrities who reversed their Brazilian butt lifts and restructured their workouts and diets to achieve a thinner look. Out with slim-thick, in with heroin chic.
Me? I am tired of contorting my body into unnatural shapes every three years to appease the male gaze. As a college student, I don’t have the time or money to spend on a personal trainer and high-protein whole foods that won’t keep in my fridge for longer than three days.
